Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)
Chapter 18: Windows to the Soul
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November 1st, 9:00 AM
Watchtower, Geosynchronous Orbit, Earth
A steady beeping was heard as Yang and the rest of her team recovered in the Watchtower's medical ward. A cool sensation was running down her arm and throughout her body, telling her that the morphine was working. She hadn't quite fully realized just how hurt she was until they finally loaded her into the Javelin. It was there that they found none of them, including Pyrrha, were truly capable of combat. Pyrrha nearly collapsed into her cot, she was so exhausted. For Yang herself, the damage was extensive. Multiple broken bones, including her left wrist and several of her ribs, a concussion, lacerations and bruises, and much more. Her friends and teammates were in similar states, yet most of them were conscious. Ironically, the only ones still standing were Weiss and Jaune, who just entered the room carrying trays of hot food.
"Lunch's here," Jaune announced as he passed the food along.
"Yay, food!" Nora cheered, only to wince as her body protested her normal excitement. "Ow…"
"Nora, settle down," Ren lightly chastised as he raised his bed up and allowed his leader to place his food onto his bed's built in tray. "You know what the doctor said."
"I know, Renny…"
The seven of them descended into silence as they ate their food, Jaune with one hand as his left arm was in a sling. His mind raced through the horrific events of yesterday about how close they came to death. It reminded him of when they fought Brainiac, how hopelessly outmatched they were. Both times, as each of his friends fell one by one, he felt they were going to die. But this time, they managed to win. They beat Trigon, a demonic god at least several thousands of years old. A threat that was, in all honestly, something they had never truly faced before.
All because Ruby did…something with her eyes.
"Any word on Ruby?" Blake asked, and Weiss nodded.
"Her condition's stable," the heiress revealed, "but she's still in a coma. They don't think she'll wake up for another day, at least. But they've seen no evidence of long-term brain damage."
"So, it wasn't brain damage that knocked her out but…exhaustion?" Pyrrha suggested, and Weiss nodded again.
"That's the current theory, anyway. That since she'd never used her silver eye powers, for lack of a better term, her body simply couldn't handle the strain."
"Makes sense. The first time I tried my Semblance, I nearly passed out," Pyrrha stated. "If I overextend myself, I still run that risk."
"Hmmhm," Yang hummed, rubbing her free fingers across her chin. The blonde brawler was immensely relieved that her sister, her last blood-relative, wasn't hurt. But the fact remained that she still had absolutely no idea what Ruby even did. Yang didn't bother asking Weiss again, for the League still had no idea. Currently, Ruby was in an isolated room where League specialists were poring over her with highly specialized equipment to try and figure out what was going on with her.
They could see them now, a collection of doctors, nurses, technicians, and a few superheroes. At first, she only saw a single superheroine in their midst, a young woman appearing to be in her early twenties wearing an outfit reminiscent of a traditional stage magician. Weiss had told them that the woman was Zatanna Zatera, a famous magician whose skills were anything but illusionary. Zatanna was eventually joined by a middle-aged bearded man wearing a tan trench coat, the smell of smoke drifting off him. He had briefly introduced himself as John Constantine, a British sorcerer who specialized in detective work. Constantine was apparently a colleague of Batman alongside Zatanna, and the two of them worked tirelessly to scan Ruby's eyes for anything magical. They apparently had trouble as a third man eventually joined them, who wore a blue and gold cloak capped by a gold helmet that completely covered his face. Unlike the others, he hadn't introduced himself, forcing one the doctors to tell them the man was called Doctor Fate.
"What do you think it is?" Jaune quietly asked, his attention squarely focused on his fellow leader.
"Magic, it has to be," Blake responded as she poured over a tablet. She had no other answer to give, and the fact that three highly-skilled magic users were focusing all their attention onto Ruby was further credence to that theory.
"Wouldn't they have said something if it was magic, though?" Nora pointed out. Blake didn't have an answer to that, realizing that Nora had a point. If Ruby's eyes were simply magic, why wouldn't the League simply tell them? No, something else was going on, and that made the Faunus worried. Before she could ruminate in her thoughts again, they heard the door open, prompting the Remnantians' attentions to shoot over to their guest. They smiled when they saw it was Dick Grayson, walking along on a crutch. The rest of the Titans were with him, except for Garfield and Raven.
"Sup, Vic," Yang greeted, and the cyborg smiled and waved back.
"Yang," Victor replied as he sat down on an open chair. The other Titans did the same, and for a while the group of fire-forged friends were content to sit in silence. Every so often, however, their eyes drifted towards Ruby's room, watching as specialists worked over her, and they couldn't help but slightly frown.
"How's BB?" Nora quietly asked. Out of everyone's injuries, Beast Boy's was perhaps the most extensive. He had suffered a concussion, multiple broken bones, including cracks along his spine, and a partially collapsed lung. It was a miracle he managed to stay up so long.
"Raven's tending to him," Dick answered. "She assures us that he's going to be fine, although he won't be able to get out of bed for a week."
"Can't or she won't let him?" Weiss pointedly asked, and Dick couldn't help but chuckle.
"Probably both, if we're being honest," M'gann answered, then turned her head to look at Ruby. "How is she?"
"Physically? Fine, just put into an exhaustion-induced coma," Weiss said. "But they won't tell us anything more than that."
"That's…frustrating," Koriand'r admitted with a frown. The Tamaranean then turned to M'gann, who already knew what question was on everyone's mind without even needing to use her telepathy.
"I already told you what I saw," she started with a sigh, "and other than it being a wave of white light, I don't know what it was. I can't even begin to guess."
"And that's what confuses me," Jaune admitted. "Ever since we learned that Brainiac thought Ruby's eyes were special, we'd been running test after test to try and figure out what caught his interest. Even Raven did a scan on them, and they all found nothing. Yet, somehow, they managed to banish a demon from Raven's mind and destroy all the Grimm. Could they always do that?"
"Possibly," Blake spoke up, catching everyone's attention. The panther Faunus was staring over a tablet, reading Tales of Remnant, a collection of fairytales Ruby had in her scroll. Sensing that everyone's attention was on her, Blake swiped her finger across the screen, bringing the story in question onto a wall-mounted tv screen.
"Hey, I remember this story," Yang said. "My dad and Uncle Qrow read it to me and Ruby after she started grade school. Some kids were picking on her because of her silver eyes, and he told us this to cheer her up."
"I'm unfamiliar," Weiss admitted. "Yang, if you please?"
"Certainly." Yang readjusted herself on her bed and looked at everyone. "Basically, the story goes like this: long ago, before there were huntsmen and huntresses, the Grimm ran rampant across Remnant. They killed everyone they saw, entire villages and cities disappearing overnight. It was the dark times, where Remnant had no defenders. That began to change one day when a woman appeared at a remote village, her eyes a bright silver. The village didn't trust outsiders, and so gave her the cold shoulder. Some even harassed her, but she held her head high and never retaliated.
"Eventually, however, the Grimm attacked the village. Everyone was certain that they were all going to die, but the silver-eyed woman confidently stood between the villagers who had harassed her and the Grimm. The Grimm prepared to kill her, but after a single look from her eyes, they all turned to stone and died. The village was saved, and rather than accept the grateful villagers' thanks and newfound generosity, she merely left them behind, intending to help the next village. And the next, and the next, and you get the idea. She was eventually joined by more, and these 'silver-eyed warriors' protected Remnant from the forces of darkness for many years until, one day, they disappeared after a great battle against the Grimm."
"This one says it was against an evil empire, whose emperor wanted their powers for himself," Pyrrha pointed out, but Yang waved her off.
"Regardless, the story ends the same. The silver-eyed warriors disappeared, but in their sacrifice, inspired the very warriors that defended Remnant ever since." Yang shrugged. "Admittedly, I thought that my dad and Uncle Qrow made that up just to cheer Ruby up and make her proud of her eyes, but now that you mention it…"
"Perhaps there's truth to it," Blake finished and nodded. They all stared at the screen, studying its contents.
"You know," Yang quietly said, "suddenly Ruby's attempts after that to 'unlock her eye-lasers' when she was younger suddenly isn't as funny anymore."
"Yeah…" Jaune whispered as he focused on Ruby once more.
November 2nd, 5:00 PM
"Bruce, I'm telling you. Whatever Ruby has, it ain't magic," Zatanna emphasized to Batman and the rest of the League founders. Constantine and Fate were standing alongside her, and the British occultist took a long drag of his cigarette and nodded.
"I ran every single detection and scrying spell I know," he added, breathing out a ring of smoke. "I got absolutely nothing. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that little Miss Martian saw things that weren't real."
"Were they?" Batman asked, and Doctor Fate nodded.
"Indeed, they were. M'gann M'orzz' recollection of the sequence of events inside young Raven Roth's mind was accurate." He twirled his hands around, forming a scaled-model of the three teenager's fight against Trigon. J'onn J'onzz frowned slightly at the sight of his adopted niece almost getting pushed into the boiling magma, but he was reluctantly used to this scene by now. When Ruby screamed and her eyes exploded into light, the League members focused on it intensely.
"Well," Flash began, "obviously something happened. And you're certain this isn't magic?"
"One-hundred percent," Zatanna answered with pursed lips. "Ruby's eyes were something else entirely."
"That might explain why we didn't detect it before," Superman suggested, rubbing his fingers against his chin. "Were you able to determine why it only happened now?"
"Yes, actually," Constantine answered, putting out his cigarette. "It appears that Ruby's eyes were, for lack of a better word, off during her time here."
"'Off?'" Batman asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, 'off.' I know it isn't the most technical term, but it's the one that best fits. Basically, Ruby's eyes are apparently tuned to a certain frequency, which coincidentally matches up perfectly with the Grimm. If the Grimm aren't there, her eyes are just that: eyes. But, if there happen to be Grimm hanging around, her eyes turn 'on', just waiting to be used."
"Then how come Trigon and Raven were affected?" Wonder Woman asked, although in Raven's case, all Ruby's eyes did was give her a light sunburn.
"Trigon's very nature," Doctor Fate suggested. "He's more a construct of evil than actual matter, which closely aligned with that of the Grimm. Coupled with his magic coursing through them, it created enough of a match for Ruby's eyes to count them as one and the same. Raven was mostly spared because of her half-human heritage, although her demon-side made it so that she didn't escape completely unscathed."
"Alright, that answers a few questions." Superman stood up and sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"But not the most important one," Batman added, bringing his hands together. "If Ruby's eyes aren't related to magic…then what are they?"
The League all sat in silence, Superman staring out over the planet. Thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to think of possibilities, yet none were forthcoming. As he and the others continued to think, he heard a flurry of footsteps racing towards them. He turned his head to look at the door, his friends following his lead even though they couldn't hear what he did. Eventually, as the footsteps got closer, they did, until finally the automatic door opened with a hiss. They saw M'gann looking into the room, slightly out of breath, but with a relieved look on her face.
"It's Ruby," she said. "She woke up."
By the time the League Founders made their way towards Ruby's room, the young huntress was surrounded by her friends and teammates. To their relief, Ruby was standing without issue, although she was visibly weak. At times, Weiss had to keep her up, but the young girl didn't seem to mind.
"The next thing I knew," she explained, telling the older superheroes that they had caught them at the tail end of their current discussion, "the world turned white. After that, nothing."
"You have no idea what caused it?" Jaune asked, clearly worried, but Ruby shook her head.
"Nothing. It just…" Ruby paused, pursing her lips, then noticed that the League founders were standing outside the room. "Oh, Superman!"
The other teenage heroes turned to face the new guests, smiling as the founders entered the room.
"Hello, Ruby," Superman greeted with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Eh, you know," Ruby replied with a roll of her shoulders, "a little tired, but all in all pretty good."
"I'm glad to hear it," Wonder Woman said, first smiling warmly then turning more serious. "Pardon for the intrusion, but… We were hoping we could have a chance to talk."
"About what I did?" Ruby asked, and the superheroes nodded. She awkwardly shifted, feeling more and more pairs of eyes focusing on her. "Do you…mind if we talk in here? With my team?"
"Of course, Rubes," Flash acquiesced, briefly zipping out of the room and returning with enough chairs for everyone to sit on. He also had a bag of chips in his hand, and seeing Green Lantern's light glare, shrugged without remorse. Ruby laughed at Flash's antics, then claimed a chair and sat down. Taking her cue, the other heroes did the same, and everyone focused their attention on her.
"Start from the beginning, please," Batman suggested, and Ruby nodded.
"Well, I guess it started when we were fighting Trigon," Ruby started. "So much happened in there. All the Grimm, the anger, the heat… But even through all of that, I didn't feel any different. I was angry at Trigon for what he did and what he was doing, sure, but not enough to shoot lasers out of my eyes."
"It was more of a wave," M'gann corrected. Rather than take offense, Ruby nodded.
"Right, a wave."
"What changed? Something had to have happened for your eyes to trigger," Batman continued, and Ruby thought hard.
"I…guess it was when we were about to lose," Ruby admitted. Yang couldn't help but clench her fist at Ruby's admission, feeling shame that she wasn't there to help her sister when she needed her most. Weiss and Blake felt the same, along with JNPR.
Ruby continued, "Trigon was just too powerful. We were playthings to him, and by the end of it all, we realized it. Garfield was knocked out, his injuries finally catching up to him, M'gann was about to be shoved into lava, and he broke Crescent Rose." Ruby frowned at the fate her beloved weapon and looked at the League members. "How is she, by the way?"
Wonder Woman frowned sadly and sighed. She knew just how important that sniper-scythe was to the young girl. "Raven tried to save as much as she could, but… I'm sorry, Ruby."
"Oh…" Ruby looked down and twiddled her thumbs. She didn't quite know how to feel about Crescent Rose's utter destruction. Better it than herself or her friends, certainly, but Crescent Rose was her weapon. She put her soul into it, and to hear that it was destroyed beyond repair made her feel a little empty.
"I lost Crocea Mors, too," Jaune admitted, trying to show sympathy. "Blood tore its hilt from the blade, and we're still trying to figure out what to do."
"Oh, Jaune, that weapon was with your family for generations." Ruby shifted focus to Jaune, knowing that the loss of his weapon was like her own. Although she always found Crocea Mors to be somewhat plain in function, there was no denying the history and importance that weapon held to the Arc family. It had survived wars, Grimm, alien invasions, and so much more. Now it was gone, broken by a literal demon.
"Yeah…" Jaune sighed. "At least it went out in glory."
"I saw that video," Nora spoke up. "That was badass, Fearless Leader. Blood was like 'nehyeah! I'mma break it then throw it at you' and you're like 'not today!' and then you caught it and threw it back."
"I agree with Nora," Yang stated through a smile. "By the way, thanks for punching him in the face for me."
Jaune blushed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "…Thank you…"
"We're losing focus," Batman interjected, bringing everyone's focus back to him. "Ruby, please continue."
"Oh, right." Ruby recomposed herself, rubbing her hands along her thighs, and breathed softly. "Anyway, things were getting bad. I was able to convince myself that we could still win, but as my friends began to fall… Trigon admitted he beat you guys, that he would torture you and make me watch. Then Raven's shield fell, and he prepared to kill her, and after that…everything turned white."
"Hmm," Batman hummed while Hawkgirl leaned forward.
"An emotional trigger?" she suggested, looking at Green Lantern for assistance.
"It's certainly possible," John Stewart admitted. "The power rings work in similar ways. It sounds like the sight of your friends almost dying is what allowed you to use your 'silver-eye powers'. Stress, maybe?"
"What I don't understand is why now? Why not earlier?" Weiss asked, looking at the older heroes expectedly.
"We have a theory," Martian Manhunter replied. "It appears that your silver-eyes require a certain 'frequency' near you in order to be primed. That frequency matches the Grimm perfectly, while Trigon himself was a close match. Perhaps that is why your eyes didn't activate around Brainiac."
"That matches the stories," Blake whispered, her eyes drifting over to the upside-down tablet resting on her bed. She turned her attention back towards the Justice League founders and frowned. "Since you guys know more about this than we do, any thoughts on what they are?"
"Unfortunately, nothing," Flash reluctantly admitted. "All we know is that they aren't magic in origin. They're something else."
"Which is why we need your perspective," Batman emphasized. "Is there anything else, anything at all, that you remember about what happened when you used your powers?"
"No, nothing that…" Ruby paused, and scrunched her face. "Actually…there was something kinda weird."
"Weird? How?" Superman asked in concern. Ruby looked back up at the Kryptonian then down at her hands. She was rubbing them together nervously, but eventually mustered up the courage to continue.
"Just before my eyes…did their thing," she began, "I saw…words flash in my mind."
"Words?" Koriand'r asked, clearly confused. When she saw the shocked expressions run across the older heroes' and M'gann' faces, however, she became concerned.
"The words. What were they?" Batman pointedly asked, his eyes boring into Ruby's. She suddenly felt even more nervous than before and rubbed her upper right arm.
"Ruby, listen to me very carefully," Wonder Woman calmly said, "I need you to tell me what words you saw."
Ruby looked at the heroes, her gaze shifting from one after another, before settling on the sympathetic look of Superman. Finally, she sighed and locked gazes with him.
"It was fragments, mostly," she answered, "but I do remember what they were."
"And?" Green Lantern asked, a pit forming in his stomach. Ruby took another breath, then suddenly stood up.
"Can I borrow a pen?" she asked. Batman quickly pulled one out of his utility belt and tossed it to her. Ruby caught it then calmly grabbed a notepad hanging off a bed. She scribbled some words, then quietly handed it over to Superman. He somberly read it, the other heroes crowding around him. After what seemed like an eternity, Superman calmly placed the notepad face first onto his lap and turned to face the other founders. He nodded, and they nodded back. Batman then pressed two fingers to the side of his cowl.
"Orion, I need you to come to the medical bay. Now."
Teams RWBY and JNPR had seen Orion on occasion. His red suit and silver helmet were very distinctive, along with his highly serious demeanor. The man could put Batman in a run for his money in that department. Still, they thought that man was simply another costumed hero from Earth, maybe from an allied world similar to Hawkgirl, Miss Martian, and Martian Manhunter.
So it was a surprise when they found that Orion was neither of those things. Instead, he was a New God, holding a mother box over Ruby's head.
"So," Ruby quietly began, "you're a—"
"Do not talk right now," Orion interrupted, and Ruby shrunk back into her bed.
'Definitely serious,' Yang thought as she frowned at how seemingly callous the New God was.
"Don't mind him," Wonder Woman reassured her, knowing that Orion could be hard to deal with at times. "I can assure you that he's only being hard on her because he cares."
"Hmm, could be a little better at showing it," Yang grumbled, and the rest of her team nodded in agreement. The mother box then beeped, prompting Orion to remove it from Ruby's vicinity and hold it up to his face. A light shone from the device into his eyes, and his frown deepened.
"Well?" Flash asked, and slowly Orion turned to face them.
"Companionship, plus understanding, joy, and love," Orion spoke. "Fragments of those words coursed through Ruby's mind when her eyes activated."
"Sounds like Ruby," Jaune admitted, "but I don't see how those words showing up is a problem."
"The problem isn't those words," Orion stated, "it's where those words came from."
"Came from? What do you mean?" Blake asked, and Martian Manhunter leaned forward across his chair.
"Are any of you familiar with Martian philosophy?" he asked.
"No."
"Unfortunately."
"Yes, actually," Weiss admitted, prompting the others to stare at her in slight surprise. "What? M'gann lent me some books. They believed that everything in existence could be explained through mathematics. It's fascinating."
There was a slight pause as everyone contemplated her statement. For their part, J'onn and M'gann looked grateful that Weiss appreciated their culture, but they had to focus on more important matters.
"Weiss being a nerd aside—"
"Hey!"
"and please do not take this the wrong way, but what's so important about Martian philosophy?" Yang asked, and Martian Manhunter shook his head.
"Do not worry, Yang. I took no offense, and your question is a pertinent one. I could spend years discussing the finer details of my people's culture, but I would rather focus on what pertains to young Ruby."
He briefly looked at Ruby, took a deep breath, and began to explain, "Weiss' statement was accurate. My people were philosophers and scientists. We believed that everything in the universe could be explained through mathematics, from its natural laws to more esoteric properties. Eventually, however, our greatest philosophers had a theory: they could prove that life itself had meaning, that life was worth living. Over the centuries, the theory had many names, but it came to be known as the Life Equation."
"The Life Equation?" Blake asked, her eyes widening. "Wait, isn't that-?"
"No," J'onn interrupted, "the Life Equation was not the focus of Darkseid's invasion, although the concepts are related. Regardless, my people never finished the calculation before the Imperium invaded. A few major discoveries were made, however, including the very words that coursed through Ruby's mind."
"They also discovered that the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum were components of it," Green Lantern added. "The Life Equation apparently took many different forms, one of which was composed of all seven colors of the spectrum: the Red Light of Rage, Orange of Avarice, Yellow of Fear, Green of Will, Blue of Hope, Indigo of Compassion, and Violet of Love. When combined, they make up the White Light of Life. It was after that discovery that people began to take the theory seriously."
"Indeed," J'onn J'onzz agreed, then continued. "The Life Equation does exist, and is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. So the fact that your eyes are somehow connect to even a fragment of it is…alarming."
"…That's a word for it," Ruby quietly stated, her mind reeling from the revelation. Her eyes were connected to life itself? That didn't make any sense, yet at the same time she believed it. She couldn't help but feel scared, however, which the League noticed.
"Ruby, it's going to be alright," Superman calmed her, walking over to place his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. He then looked at the rest of the room's inhabitants with an utmost serious expression. "None of what was discussed leaves this room, understand?"
"Of course," they all immediately agreed, even Orion. Part of the New God wanted to notify Highfather and New Genesis of this development, but at the same time knew that might not be the best course of action for the young girl. He knew Highfather would never harm her, but there was the possibility of her being taken to New Genesis, away from her friends, so that she could focus entirely on her gift. To be turned against Darkseid. Orion wouldn't allow that just yet, and he trusted the League to help her on her own terms.
"If it's all the same to you," Orion began as he walked towards the door, "I'm going to get back to work."
"Of course. Thank you, Orion," Superman said, and Orion nodded before walking out of the door, it automatically closing behind him. Another silence descended over the heroes as they digested the information, not quite knowing how to proceed.
"Well…" Jaune finally said, "I certainly learned something new today."
"Understatement of the century," Nora added. "Now what?"
Consciousness slowly returned to Garfield Logan. First it was an incessant beeping, which he recognized as that of a heartbeat monitor. Then same sight, which first was blurry then faded back into focus. Sensation returned to his fingers, and he twitched them slightly before clutching them together. He felt only the soft fabric of hospital bed sheets, and a quick look outside of his window told him that he was in the Watchtower. He assumed that the Justice League must have picked him up for medical treatment, and he tried to push himself off the bed only to immediately fall back down in pain.
"…ow…" he groaned.
"I wouldn't recommend doing that just yet," he heard a female's voice stoically advise. Garfield recognized the voice and quickly turned his head towards the source, where he saw Raven, with her hood down, sitting on a chair next to him. She had a black tome in her hand, but Garfield didn't care about that.
"Rae… You're…?" he began, but Raven smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm okay. So are the others, by the way, although Ruby had a…development," Raven answered. Garfield wondered just what this 'development' was, but figured he could ask about it later. Right now, his best friend was sitting before him, perfectly fine outside of what appeared to be a light sunburn. Garfield tried to speak, only to feel his dry throat constrict. His words turned into a coughing sputter, to which Raven calmly grabbed a cup of water with her telekinesis, bringing it over to her friend.
"Here, drink," she said, lowering its straw to Garfield's lips. Part of him felt annoyed at being treated like a child, but he was so weak he honestly didn't care. He greedily sipped the life-giving liquid, drinking it until there was nothing left.
"Gah… Thanks," Garfield finally got out as Raven took the cup back and placed it on a small table alongside her book. She waited patiently for her friend to get this thoughts together, saying nothing until he finally mustered the strength to speak once more.
"What… What happened?" he asked, and Raven nodded.
"After you, Ruby, and M'gann went inside my head, my body was forced to fight the others. I nearly killed them," Raven admitted, frowning in shame for a moment before cutting Garfield's rebuttal off. "I know it wasn't my fault, but I was forced to watch, unable to do anything to stop it."
"He forced you to watch? Why?"
"An effort to completely break me," she answered immediately. "It nearly worked…until you, Ruby, and M'gann showed up to stop him. Garfield, I thought you had died when you fell from the Tower, and seeing you there… I can't even describe how I felt."
"I can only imagine," Garfield admitted. "But what happened after that? The last thing I remember is us losing."
"You all were," Raven replied with another frown. "But, as it turns out, Ruby's eyes are a little mores special than any of us thought. She banished Trigon from my mind, allowing the rest of us who were still standing to finish Blood off."
"You mean…?"
"Yes." Raven smiled. "We won, Gar. Brother Blood's been arrested, his entire church has been branded an international terrorist organization, his finances seized, and his last remaining followers are being hunted down by the CIA, FBI, DEO, and that's just in the United States. He's done for, reduced to nothing more than a raving lunatic in his cell."
Slowly, Garfield felt a smile blossom across his face. Hearing that Brother Blood, one of their biggest adversaries, was finally brought to justice was something he'd wanted to hear for years. The slippery bastard had always managed to slip away from justice, but even he couldn't dodge forever. Garfield then frowned as he remembered the other half of the equation, and looked at Raven.
"What about Trigon?" he asked, and to his surprise, Raven's smile widened.
"He's gone, sealed away in a place he can never escape from," she revealed, tapping her finger against the chakra embedded in her forehead. Garfield's eyes widened and he shot up, immediately falling down as his body squealed in protest.
"Gar, I told you. You need to take it easy for now," she emphasized, moving closer to his bed while surging healing magic into him. The magic felt good to the changeling, but he didn't care about that.
"Rae, you…sealed Trigon in yourself? Why?" he asked, begging to know. He trusted his friend without question, but sealing her demonic father in her mind was a leap too big for him to grasp. Luckily for Garfield, Raven had anticipated his question, and immediately began to answer.
"M'gann told me that Ruby's eyes are…special beyond their unique eye color. They apparently had some sort of anti-Grimm properties, and my father, being an entity composed almost entirely of evil, was a close match. The wave she sent out crippled him, in more ways than one. That entire last battle was him running on reserves. He's practically a mute compared to what he used be, now."
"That's…good to hear. Wait, if it affected your dad, did it-?"
"It gave me a sunburn, yes. We're not telling Ruby that."
Garfield thought the decision over, then immediately agreed. "Yeah, that probably wouldn't be best for her right now."
"Indeed. Still, there was another reason why I decided to imprison my father within me."
Garfield leaned to the side. "And that is?"
Raven took a moment, looking down at her feet. "My father was able to accomplish what he did because we didn't know about it until it was too late. He was able to work in the shadows, move his pieces across the board, all without my knowledge. By putting him in my mind, under constant supervision, he can't do that ever again. Especially with his current state.
"And," Raven looked back, staring into Garfield's eyes, "when I die, he goes with me."
Garfield stared into her purple eyes and gulped. "That's…morbid, but I trust you. If anyone can hold your father down, it's you."
Raven smiled, reaching her hand to clasp his own. "Thank you, Garfield."
"No problem, Rae. We're friends, and we always will be."
To his surprise, Raven actually frowned at his answer. Garfield briefly wondered how his answer could be interpreted wrong, only for Raven's eyes to narrow. With utmost conviction on her part, and complete shock on Garfield's, Raven suddenly lifted the sheets to his bed and let herself under them.
"Raven, what are you-?" he began, only to be stopped as Raven began to cuddle him.
"I'm tired," she answered, snuggling in along his side. His mind went blank as he barely comprehended what was happening.
"Uhh…"
"Do you have a problem with me resting here?" she pointedly asked, as if daring him to say otherwise, but Garfield shook his head.
"No, no! Not at all!" he answered frantically. A soft smile formed on Raven's face as her eyes began to droop. She must have been more tired than he had assumed, and before long she had fallen peacefully asleep. As she breathed softly, Garfield felt a sense of calm fall over him. As he, too, drifted off into slumber, he couldn't help but feel that cuddling with Raven felt…nice.
A few minutes later, M'gann entered her brother's medical room to check on him, only to find him sleeping in bed with Raven cuddled next to him. She gasped, first in shock then in joy. Happy that her brother and his best friend had finally taken the next step in their long-overdue, in her humble opinion, relationship, M'gann quietly snapped a picture on her phone and sent it out to the rest of the Titans along with teams RWBY and JNPR. It was captioned by a bolded and italicized 'It's Happening!', then clicked send.
A few moments later, a happy, high-pitched squeal echoed through the Watchtower as Koriand'r took one look at the cute picture. At the same time, Blake Belladonna cupped her feline ears as the high-pitched noise tore through them, causing her to scream out in pain.
"Kori, what the hell?!"
"Blake, I am the so sorry!"
November 3rd, 3:00 AM
Metropolis
Lex Luthor was roused from his slumber by a low-sounding boom, followed by a vibration. He took a glance at the digital clock resting by his bed and frowned. Without saying a word, he rose from his bed, leaving his partner behind, and quietly draped a robe around himself. He walked to his high rise's kitchen, opening the liquor cabinet and pulling out a bottle of scotch alongside two glass cups. When he closed the door, he pointedly ignored the person floating outside of his window, calmly pouring himself two glasses.
"Lex," Superman angrily greeted him, but Lex Luthor calmly finished pouring his drinks, placed the bottle back inside the cabinet, and turned to face him.
"Hello, Superman, and at such early hours, too. Tell me, are you always up at three in the morning?" Lex asked, grabbing a glass at the same time. "Please, be my guest. Come in, have a drink. You've already woken me up."
"You know why I'm here," Superman got to the point. Rather than answer, Lex merely took a drink and placed the glass down.
"And what, pray tell, did I do this time?" Lex asked, although he already knew the answer. He just wanted the alien to say it.
"The Grimm in Jump City," Superman answered, confirming Lex's assumption.
"Terrible business, over there," Lex said as he walked over to a fine leather chair, Superman floating after him outside his window. "Hard to believe that maniac managed to get his hands on them, especially after you so empathically stated they were all destroyed."
"Don't play coy with me, Lex. You and I both know that you got your hands on samples that day, and that you've been selling them. Brother Blood was one of your clients."
"Hmm, a scandalous accusation, Superman," Lex calmly stated, crossing his leg over the other and bringing his fingers together. "Do you have any proof to back those claims up?"
Superman didn't answer, and Lex allowed himself to smile. "Oh, that's right. You don't, just like every other accusation you've ever leveled at me. It's honestly quite pathetic. But alright, let's play your little game. Let's say, for the sake of discussion, that I did manage to get my hands on samples of the Grimm that day, that I studied them and subsequently sold them. What laws would I have been breaking?"
"You sold weapons and the Grimm to a terrorist organization," Superman reminded Lex, but the billionaire waved him off.
"The last I checked, the Grimm are neither alive nor are they part of any lists of banned substances, weapons of mass destruction, or otherwise. After all, what need was there when the oh-so-mighty Superman told everyone that they were all killed."
Superman frowned and crossed his arms. "And the fact that you sold them to Blood?"
"Oh, you still want to play this game. Alright, let's continue. I admit, the weapons Brother Blood had for his army were of LexCorp make. But no financial transaction ever occurred between LexCorp and the Church of Blood for any such shipment. In fact, those weapons he was using were stolen months ago off the coast of Qurac by pirates. You can check the records, if you wish. It's all in there. However, I must admit that my company did have a small business relationship with the Church of Blood. Most companies did, to some compacity. Mostly charity work and associated contributions. Are they to be charged with aiding a terrorist organization, too, one that only had that illustrious designation bestowed upon just yesterday? Tell me, how was I supposed to know that their Allfather was Trigon the Terrible? The last I checked, I don't believe in any gods, evil or otherwise."
Superman frowned, while Lex merely smiled. A silent conversation was brewing between the two of them, the true meaning of their words coming in behind the ones spoken. As the Man of Steel stared into Lex's eyes, the bald man calmly got up and walked over to the window.
"Tell me," Lex began, "what do you see when you look at me with those eyes? Do you feel hate, anger? Or do you feel anything at all? I must admit, I still don't know the answer. But, I do know what I see in them. While the masses below may believe you to be their savior, I know differently. When I look into your eyes, Superman, I don't see humanity's salvation. I see its destruction."
Superman frowned sadly at Lex's answer. For how brilliant Lex was, he could never see beyond his own ego. Despite all the pain Lex had caused, Superman didn't hate him. He pitied him and felt sorrow at how Lex wasted his life and potential. Superman then steeled himself again, and looked into Lex's eyes.
"This isn't over, Lex. One day, you will go down."
"You've been saying that for years," Lex declared as Superman flew off. Lex watched the alien fly off high into the atmosphere, forming a faint contrail behind him. When the alien finally disappeared from view, Lex calmly walked back over to his kitchen, downed the extra glass of scotch, and walked back to his bed. Mercy was still asleep, or more likely pretending to be, and he didn't bother waking her up as he got back into bed. He didn't fall back asleep, however, his thoughts running wild.
As much as he hated to admit it, the alien was right about one thing. Selling the Grimm to Brother Blood had proved to be a mistake, one that could have proven to be disastrous. The next batch would have to have more safeguards in place to prevent such calamitous events from occurring again. To prevent his loss of control. Ideas were forming in his head, and Lex allowed himself to smile before finally drifting off once more.
November 3rd, 8:00 AM
Watchtower, Geosynchronous Orbit, Earth
By the next morning, the teenagers had recovered enough to be allowed out of the med bay, with Garfield being confined to a wheelchair. His friends were giving him and Raven knowing smirks, causing the changeling to cover his face with his hands in embarrassment. Raven, meanwhile, lightly glared at M'gann for daring to take that picture in the first place and sharing it, even if it was adorable. She vowed to get back at her, even if she didn't quite know how just yet.
Right now, however, teams RWBY, JNPR, and the Titans were making up for lost time, specifically on a matter they unfortunately weren't able to properly celebrate.
"Happy sixteenth birthday, Ruby," Dick stated as he carried a strawberry cake with white icing to their table. The group were currently inside one of the Watchtower's many holographic training rooms, with it currently set to a nice, tropical beach. Even if they knew on a fundamental level it was all fake, the cool breeze rushing against their faces and the soft sand beneath their feet was more than enough to wash the stress of the past few days away.
Ruby smiled as she looked at her friends' faces and the lit candles on top of her birthday cake. She took a deep breath and blew them all out, then proceeded to carefully slice the cake into separate pieces, handing each off to her friends one at a time. She saved the last, biggest piece for herself, but didn't dig in just yet. Instead, Ruby patiently waited as her friends brought out a single large gift, and smiled.
"I know it isn't much, but…" Yang began, "…all of our other gifts kinda got blown up."
"Eh, it's fine," Ruby said, waving her sister off. "I got him back."
"That you did, little dude," Garfield replied through a smile, which Ruby reciprocated. Seeing her friends urge her on, Ruby greedily tore open the package, revealing a red and black metal box. Slowly, Ruby began to realize just what was inside the container, and with a newfound reverence, opened the box to reveal the encased remains of Crescent Rose protected by a glass sheet, preserving it for eternity.
"After we defeated my father," Raven quietly spoke, "I went back to try and see what I could find. This was all that was left."
"I…see," Ruby whispered. She had known that her prized weapon was completely destroyed, but to see the remains in person was a different experience. Crescent Rose had been with her for years, having built it back in Signal. It got her through much, from Grimm, schoolyard spars, criminals, all the way the up to alien invasions and demons. Tears threatened to stream out of her eyes, but Ruby held it in and looked up at Raven.
"I love it. Thank you," Ruby finally got out, causing her friends to smile ruefully. They could tell she was hurting, but knew she would able to rise past it.
"If you want," Victor began, "you and I can get to work on rebuilding her. The Watchtower has some pretty impressive forging facilities here."
"No thanks, Victor," Ruby replied. "If it's all the same to you…I'd like to build Crescent Rose 2.0 myself."
Rather than feel insulted, Victor nodded in understanding. "I can respect that. Mind if I at least forward you some suggestions?"
"By all means," Ruby replied as she stood up and paced. "Honestly, I've been giving it some thought, and I think all of our weapons need substantial upgrades. Trigon's attack has opened my eyes – Yang, don't you dare."
"Dare what?" Yang asked, confused at Ruby's sudden accusation. Her half-sister merely glared at her, and finally Yang shrugged. "Fine, I won't laugh at your pun."
"Thank you." Ruby smirked victoriously, then continued. "Anyway, the fact remains that we were underprepared for Trigon on all levels. Our weapons were ineffective, with the only exception being Jaune's Nth Metal Grenades and Weiss' Nth Metal powder."
"My thoughts exactly," Weiss agreed, understanding where her leader was coming from. After all, she had helped Ruby organize her thoughts on this very topic just before the party started. "I think its time that we take a much more proactive approach towards threats and how we prepare for them. That means entirely new functionalities, materials, and things we would have never considered. I've already prepared a list of materials we can acquire through the League's logistics department, including Nth Metal and depleted promethium."
"Promethium? What is that?" Jaune asked, feeling intrigued.
"One of, if not the, strongest materials known to man," Victor answered, only for Donna to huff. "Sorry, known to humanity."
"Thank you, Victor."
"Really? That could be useful," Yang admitted. "How come you didn't suggest it earlier?"
"Cause the stuff is super expensive," Dick answered, "and we didn't have the funding."
"That will no longer be the case," they heard a gruff voice speak out, prompting them to turn and regard Batman as he entered the makeshift beach. He was holding a parcel in his hand, which the teams noticed as he walked over towards them. Ruby scooched over on her bench, motioning for Batman to sit down next to her. Batman thought for a moment, then decided to take Ruby up on her offer.
"Sup, B-man," Yang called out through a toothy smile.
"Yang. I trust your arm is feeling better?" he asked, and Yang flashed a thumbs up.
"Better today, but the doc says I won't lose the cast til tomorrow. Part of me says that I should just say 'screw it' and flex it off, but I won't."
"Good, because that would be stupid. Especially given how you got it from a dumb movie," Blake mumbled, but Yang shot her partner a look.
"The Fast and the Furious franchise is a cinematic masterpiece, and you will not convince me otherwise."
Garfield, Victor, Jaune, and Ruby silently nodded in agreement while Donna, Raven, and Weiss shook their heads with Blake.
"It's meat-headed stupidity," Blake countered.
"The last movie had them race a nuke through Apokolips while the Rock fired a heavy machine gun at Parademons, blew up Darkseid's army, and jumped through a Boom Tube just before his Omega Beams disintegrated them. All with cars."
"… Okay, that was pretty cool."
"Ah-hah!"
As the teenagers playfully argued, Batman remained silent. He didn't want to interrupt, and in all honesty, seeing them act like this was a comfort to him. It meant that they were recovering, even if not fully just yet. Eventually, the conversation died down, and the teens refocused their attentions back towards him.
"I take it that from your conversation, everything is going well?"
"Well," Ruby took a moment to look at everyone's faces, then turned back, "yeah. I'd say we are."
"I'm glad to hear that," Batman admitted, placing the parcel onto the table. "Before I say anything, I want to say that you all did good work in Jump City. You recognized a problem and proactively worked to end it before it could get any worse. You saved a lot of lives down there, and you should all feel proud of that."
The teenage heroes, even Dick Grayson, smiled at the rare helping of Batman's praise. At the same time, however, Dick felt that Batman was here for more than just a congratulatory visit, causing his eyes to glance at the parcel. He wondered what was in it, but trusted that his father would reveal it momentarily.
"Also, happy birthday, Ruby."
"Thank you!" Ruby smiled, then went silent as Batman turned his attention towards his adopted son.
"Where will you and your team be staying?" he asked, and Dick nodded.
"Titans Tower was, unfortunately, completely destroyed. Victor thinks it'll take months before it's livable again, and that's not including the various upgrades I know he'll implement to ensure this never happens again."
"I'm not even gonna protest that, cuz' he's right," Victor acquiesced, and Dick smirked before continuing.
"Luckily, however, I kept that old lease on my Jump City apartment from a few years back. Figured it might come in handy one day, and it should be enough to hold all of us."
"Does that include RWBY and JNPR?" Batman asked, and Dick moved to answer but paused. He ran through the floor plan of his apartment, calculating the amount of space needed for fifteen people, then sighed.
"It'd be cramped, but… I think we could manage it."
"Richard," Pyrrha stated, "please don't make yourself uncomfortable on our accounts."
"You heard him, we have the room," Garfield insisted, despite him knowing that they really didn't. M'gann gave her brother a look, and coupled with the sad expressions on the teenagers' faces, they knew, too. Garfield sighed and crossed his arms. "Man, this bites."
"Tell me about it, BB," Nora stated. "Was really beginning to like hanging out with you guys."
"Yeah…" Garfield frowned and looked down at his feet, a sense of sadness permeating off him. Raven rubbed his shoulder sympathetically, prompting Garfield to gently clasp her hand with his own. "Are you guys sure?"
"Don't worry about us," Ren said. "We'll be able find a place to stay. Worst comes to worst, we can always stay in the Watchtower again. Regardless, despite how it ended, we all appreciated our time with you all."
Victor and the other Titans smiled. "Thanks, Ren."
Then, one by one, the Titans and team RWBYJNPR gave each other farewell hugs. It was a bittersweet moment. Although they had only known each other for a short time, their mutual friendships were strong and intense. They meant every word they said, every hug filled with emotion. Finally, when they were all done, they sat back down and refocused back towards Batman.
"We'll have to go shopping again," Weiss said, "before we can move back into our rooms in the Watchtower. Most of our spare cloths were…destroyed."
"I already took the liberty of repurchasing your spare clothes," Batman revealed, taking the former heiress back.
"Oh… Why thank you. The gesture is much appreciated."
"Something tells me that isn't the only gesture you guys are about to get," Dick declared before standing up. Nodding at his father, he quickly led the Titans out of the room, insisting that whatever Batman wanted to say, it was best done in relative privacy. Before long, only Batman and the eight Remnantians were left on the hard light beach, and for a long while, there was only silence.
"So… What's this about?" Nora finally asked, and Batman sighed. Then, to their surprise, he lifted the top of his cowl off of his head, revealing the chiseled face of Bruce Wayne.
"… I knew it," Weiss smugly declared, happy that her assumption proved to be correct.
"You really are Bruce Wayne," Jaune breathed out. He had of course believed Weiss when she had told them her suspicions following Mumbo's rampage, but seeing the confirmation was still a shock. Mostly towards the fact that the reclusive Dark Knight was bold enough to flat-out reveal his face to them. Out of respect, they waited for him to make the first move, which Bruce eventually took.
"You don't have to stay in the Watchtower," Bruce revealed, prompting the Remnantians to raise their eyebrows.
"We don't?" Yang asked. "I mean, not that I don't like living up here, what with the out of this world view, but if we don't live up here then where would we stay? It's not like any of us have jobs yet."
The subject of employment outside of their hero work was something both teams had discussed. After seeing the Titans and other superheroes tend to their needs for the past two months, they were beginning to feel a little like freeloaders. Given how being superheroes didn't exactly pay the bills on Earth, they were beginning to seriously consider the prospect.
"You guys aren't kicking us out, are you?" Nora asked with a pointed stare, to which Bruce shook his head.
"Not at all. I only wanted to let you know that there are other options," Bruce replied, causing the teenagers to fall silent.
"… What do you mean, 'other options?'" Jaune asked, and Bruce began to open the parcel.
"I have a high rise property in Metropolis, one that is big enough to accommodate all of your needs."
Bruce's revelation caused the Remnantians to go silent. Bruce Wayne was offering to give them their own high rise? That was certainly an unexpected development, but the look on the billionaire's face told them that he wasn't done.
"However, as the individual in charge of your training and development, and given recent revelations, I would prefer another option. One that would place us in closer proximity."
"And that would be?" Yang asked, leaning forward, and Bruce looked them all in the eyes.
"I'm offering for you all to come live with me in Wayne Manor." As the teenagers stared at him in absolute shock, Bruce pulled out the contents of the parcel, revealing them to be slips of paper. He slid them over to each individual, where they took a quick glance down at them to see that they were citizenship papers. As they looked them over, Bruce pulled his cowl over his head and stood up, preparing to walk out.
"I'm not insisting upon anything. If none of you want to take either of my offers, I won't force you."
With that statement, Bruce walked towards the door, it automatically sliding open as he neared.
"Wait," Ruby called out, halting Bruce in his tracks. "Before you go, and before we make any decision, I have to ask. Why? Why do you want us to come live with you?"
Bruce thought over how he would answer her. He considered a simple 'as your teacher'-type of response but felt that wasn't sufficient. It wasn't enough, neither to him nor the young heroes. With a serious expression, Bruce turned to face them, and looked Ruby in the eyes.
"Even if our circumstances are different, I know what it's like to lose everything in the blink of an eye."
No one responded, knowing at an instant what tragedy Bruce Wayne was referring to, one that had defined him. They all stared at each other, and before long Bruce nodded at them and walked away, leaving team RWBYJNPR to ruminate among themselves.
The next morning, after saying goodbye to their friends, all eight teenagers were teleported down to the Earth's surface. They arrived in a field next to a country road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Patiently, they wait for their ride, and before long saw a black limousine drove towards them. As it got closer, they made out the stylized 'W'-logo on its side, telling them who owned it. The car slowed to a halt in front of them, and the driver's door opened to reveal a balding man with a thin moustache. He was sharply dressed in a black suit over a white button-down shirt, a black bow-tie looped around his neck.
"Hello, young Masters," the man greeted with a bow as he opened the door for them. "My name is Alfred Pennyworth, and I wish to welcome you to Wayne Manor."
Unknown System, Occupied Planet
Bottled City of Vale
Ozpin sat atop Beacon Tower, sitting in his office has he stared out over what was left of Vale. He was alone, leaving him to his thoughts. It had been nearly two months since Brainiac's invasion, since the fall of Vale. Since Remnant's destruction. It was still hard for him to fully wrap his head around what had happened. In only two days, his entire world was upended and destroyed, millions of innocent people killed, and that was just in the kingdom of Vale. He couldn't even pretend to guess how the other cities were faring, although he could make them out in the distance, behind glass spheres, or at least a close approximation.
He heard the door behind him be pushed open, and Ozpin slowly turned to look at Glynda Goodwitch. She looked ragged, her once lush blonde hair disheveled and dirty. He didn't blame her for her appearance, as the strain on resources was hard on them all.
"Glynda," Ozpin greeted his fellow professor, "how is everything?"
"We lost another two students," Glynda mournfully answered. "Suicide. They slit their wrists in their dorms."
Ozpin's frown deepened. This was the fifth incident this week alone, and that was just considering his students. For many people, Vale's fall meant the loss of everything they had. Their homes, their families, friends and loved ones. Everyone lost something that day, things that could never be recovered.
But even if he couldn't change the past, he could at the very least help those here in the present.
"I want the group therapy sessions to increase," he ordered. "No one should feel alone right now."
"Of course, Ozpin," Glynda replied with a nod, then flipped the page on her notebook in anticipation of Ozpin's next question.
"How's the rest of Vale?" Ozpin finally asked.
"Most of the city is still lawless, outside of the immediate area surrounding Beacon and the agricultural district. James' surviving forces along with capable huntsmen and huntresses do what they can, but progress towards regaining control over the city is slow. We lost track of Adam Taurus in the slums, along with the supplies he and his followers stole. Luckily, team CRDL is expected to recover from their injuries sustained in trying to fight them off, managing to arrest a handful of his followers in the process."
Ozpin frowned at the news. Hearing about another attack or raid from Adam Taurus and his last remaining followers was, unfortunately, becoming routine to him. Although most of the White Fang had quickly defected, including a young chameleon Faunus named Ilia Amitola who led much of the initial desertions, Adam Taurus continued his crusade from the shadows. He would strike where they were most vulnerable, often to steal the supplies he either wanted or needed, before slipping away. Should he come across someone, they were usually attacked and sometimes killed.
And that was just considering the forces Beacon had. Outside of its territory, he knew that Adam and his followers inflicted similar atrocities among many of Vale's disparate citizens, terrorizing and killing people they simply didn't like. He wanted nothing more than to march in and put a stop to him, but so far, the guerrilla fighter was too illusive. A sustained push to find him was considered, and frequently discussed, but the issue of limited resources and manpower stayed their hand every time. It sickened him.
"Moving on," Glynda continued, "Roman is still charging us an arm and a leg for Vale's manufactured goods, but that's nothing new. At the very least, he's not pushing his luck and is content to maintain his hold over the industrial district. Operative Schnee has also confirmed that Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black are with him, along with Neo Politan. Still no sign of Cinder Fall, however."
"I'm not surprised," Ozpin admitted through pursed lips. "Cinder has much to offer in satiating Brainiac's…curiosity."
The professor merely spat out the end of his sentence, but it was still filled with venom. Could he even call it 'curiosity'? Curiosity, although sometimes leading to recklessness and ruin, didn't usually entail the destruction of a planet. He doubted even Salem, for how cruel she was, would have considered Remnant's entire destruction. The thought of his long-time enemy brought his focus closer to home. He still had no idea where Salem currently was, but he did know the whereabouts of his allies, and he frowned sadly.
James Ironwood was still trying to maintain order, distributing their limited resources as efficiently as possible. Yet Ozpin could see that his friend was running almost entirely on desperation. When he thought no one was looking, the Atlesian General often sulked and drank, berating himself for failing so spectacularly. Ozpin had tried to emphasize to him repeatedly that he wasn't at fault, but James refused to believe that.
It was even worse for Qrow and Tai. The loss of Ruby and Yang had proven too much. Qrow had doubled down on his alcoholism, reducing him to a shadow of his former self, while Tai had completely shut down. As with General Ironwood, Ozpin had been trying his hardest to help his former students, but so far nothing was working. He wondered if they would ever truly recover from their loss but hoped that they would find the strength within themselves to do so. No matter how long it took, however, he would be there for them.
At the same time, he wondered what had become of Ruby and Yang, of teams RWBY and JNPR. Were they dead, or did Brainiac capture them? Perhaps a miracle occurred and they somehow managed to escape? Ozpin doubted that was the case, but he clasped hold of that belief firmly. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that at least they survived, for if the worst came to pass, at least some of Remnant would live.
He heard a ping from within his office, and with a frown Ozpin turned to face the source. He saw a swirling red portal greeting both him and Glynda, his fellow professor moving in front of him protectively.
"Don't bother, Glynda," Ozpin gently ordered. "There's no point."
Reluctantly, Glynda lowered her wand to her side, glaring at the portal as a figure stepped through. It was a woman wearing red and black, a katana strapped to her side. Held in her hand was a mask reminiscent of a Grimm, and her red eyes bored into his own.
"Raven," Ozpin said with as much calm as he could muster. He couldn't help but look at the insignia Raven bore on her chest, that of an upside-down triangle made of three dots. Brainiac's insignia. Raven patiently waited next to her portal, a look of annoyance marring her face.
"He's summoned you," Raven declared, and Glynda snarled. She threatened to lunge at the former bandit, but Ozpin merely raised his cane to stop her while he himself walked forward. Without sparing her a glance, Ozpin walked through the portal, Raven coming in behind him. He emerged inside a familiar metallic room, where the last remains of Raven's tribe resided. All wore Brainiac's insignia somewhere on their person, but Ozpin refused to give them a second look as Raven led him further along. They walked in silence, the only sounds coming from their footsteps along the metallic floor. Finally, as they neared Brainiac's control room, Raven stopped in front of Ozpin and turned to face him.
"For your sake, and everyone else's, just do what he says," she advised, but Ozpin shot her a look.
"I'm surprised, Raven. Didn't think you still cared for us," Ozpin accused. Rather than try and deny it, Raven narrowed her eyes.
"Working for Brainiac is the only thing that kept my tribe alive. You saw firsthand how fighting him turned out for Remnant."
"And how has becoming his servants payed off for you?" Ozpin shot back, glaring at his former student with a mixture of anger and disappointment. Raven stared back just as hard, clenching her fists.
"We survived. That's how things turned out for us."
"All in exchange for your precious freedom," Ozpin reminded her. "You may call it survival, Raven, but I know what is really going on. You're nothing more than a slave, of your own choosing."
"And what, Ozpin, would you do in my situation?" Raven retaliated with a snarl. "In case you've forgotten, Brainiac destroyed Remnant in just two days."
"I am more than aware," Ozpin said, venom filling his voice.
"Then you know we can't beat him. He's too powerful, and it's pointless to try. Now come, he's—"
"You could've helped them," Ozpin stated, halting Raven in her tracks. Her back was turned to him now, and Ozpin continued. "Despite your best efforts, you have a connection to Yang. You know she went to face him with her team and friends. You could have gone to her, helped them face Brainiac."
"And look where that defiance got her," Raven quietly replied, looking down at her feet. "Yang is dead. So is Ruby."
"You don't know that for certain," Ozpin reminded her, trying to reach out to her. "All it would take is a single portal to her, wherever she might be."
Raven remained silent. For a moment, Ozpin allowed himself to believe he might have gotten through to her, but Raven merely put on her mask and turned to face him.
"There's no point," she emphatically stated while opening the door. Ozpin sighed, disappointment filling him as Raven beckoned him to proceed. The door closed behind him, leaving Ozpin alone with the being who destroyed everything he knew. He glared at the back of Brainiac's head, twiddling his fingers across his cane. Ozpin wondered if he could perhaps get the jump on him, thrust his cane through the back of Brainiac's head and out his eye, but knew he wouldn't get five feet before he would die.
"Planet F1934G's preservation complete," Brainiac announced as he finished his dreadful work on the planet below. A moment later, he pressed a button and fired the planet-destroying laser, fracturing its core and turning the planet into a fireball. Ozpin, with silent horror, wondered how many souls just lost their lives to the monster before him, but forced his tongue to be silent. Slowly, Brainiac turned to face Ozpin, the cables disconnecting from his body with a shrill hiss of air. Once freed, Brainiac stepped forward, his heavy footsteps echoing across the room, but Ozpin stared straight into Brainiac's cold, machine-like eyes. Although they shone a brilliant purple, Ozpin only saw one thing in those eyes.
The lack of a soul. Or, at the least, one that was buried under a mountain of cold, hard logic and a complete lack of empathy.
"Ozpin," Brainiac said.
"Brainiac," Ozpin greeted. "You summoned me."
"I did," Brainiac confirmed. "I have more questions of you, and you will answer them."
"I see," Ozpin said, furrowing his brow. This wasn't the first time Brainiac had summoned Ozpin, and deep down he knew it wouldn't be the last. Through his study of Remnant, Brainiac would come across a new, untold secret, then have Raven bring Ozpin to him to answer it. In an act of mercy, Raven had apparently convinced the alien warlord that killing Ozpin would be pointless, given how he would simply reincarnate into another body after an indeterminate amount of time. That would lead to an extensive search, which would be a waste of resources. Brainiac was nothing but logical, and so had deigned to keep Ozpin alive.
That didn't mean, however, that Ozpin's attempts at defiance went unanswered, or without punishment. Sometimes it was dealt to him, other times he wasn't so lucky and was forced to watch another take his punishment instead. In the end, Brainiac always got what he wanted, but still Ozpin had to resist somehow. He owed it to himself and the people of Remnant to at least try. As the two beings stared at each other, Ozpin felt an idea take root in his head, and he nodded.
"Alright," Ozpin finally spoke. "I'll answer your questions."
"You're being more cooperative this time," Brainiac immediately noted. "Why?"
Ozpin nodded. He had expected Brainiac to see through him, but still he kept going with his, admittedly, half-baked plan.
"Yes, I am being more cooperative today. Call it recognizing the inevitable, if you will."
"Hmm, indeed," Brainiac replied, coldly walking to his monitor. "Now, my question is—"
"I wasn't done," Ozpin interrupted, halting Brainiac in his tracks. Slowly, the Coluan turned to face Ozpin, narrowing his eyes at the Remnantian professor. Seizing his moment, Ozpin bravely walked towards his captor.
"As I was saying, I am willing and able to cooperate with you, to answer your many questions. However, in return for my cooperation, I only ask for something in return."
"And that would be?" Brainiac asked, slightly curious at Ozpin's audacity.
"A simple game," Ozpin answered, causing Brainiac to raise his eyebrow. "Tell me, are you familiar with the game of chess?"
"I am familiar," Brainiac admitted. "A game played by two people on a checkered board, where specialized pieces are manipulated to capture the other player's king. Similar games exist across multiple planets."
"Then I won't bother delving into the specifics," Ozpin stated. "In return for my complete cooperation, I ask to play games of chess with you. At the start of each game, we each ask each other a question, and we both answer truthfully. Whoever wins the game asks another, and the loser must answer in turn."
Brainiac regarded Ozpin's words. "Why should I allow this and not force the information out of you?"
"Because it would be a waste of resources," Ozpin replied. "A cooperative prisoner of their own free will is always better than one forced to act under duress. The answers and behaviors given are more genuine, less likely to be falsified."
"Hmm." Brainiac hummed, thinking over Ozpin's offer. He knew that, should he push it, Ozpin stood no chance of standing up to Brainiac. Yet his logic made sense, even if he felt that the sudden change of heart was somewhat dubious. Slowly, he came around to it, and ultimately nodded in agreement, figuring that should Ozpin attempt something, he'd be able to rectify the situation easily.
"I accept your terms," Brainiac declared, to which Ozpin nodded. Brainiac pressed a few holographic buttons on his control panel, and soon a holographic table and board appeared in between them. It solidified, forming their play space. Ozpin politely sat down, leaning his cane against his chair, while Brainiac did the same.
"Ask your question, as a show of goodwill," Brainiac ordered, and Ozpin nodded. He already had a question in mind.
"Before you destroyed Remnant and killed my people, eight of my students were pulled aboard your ship," Ozpin said. "What happened to them?"
Brainiac thought over Ozpin's question, then stared at him. "The children attempted a rescue of their youngest, and upon reuniting discovered my preservation and laboratory. They then fought their way to me to stop Vale's preservation, an attempt at which they were unsuccessful. After I destroyed the planet, I moved to transfer them to my lab for study, only to discover that I had missed them grabbing an artifact from my vault: a Mother Box recovered in Remnant's Land of Darkness. A Boom Tube was opened, transporting them off my ship and causing considerable damage in the process before closing. I do not know where they landed."
Ozpin's mind reeled from the answer. Teams RWBY and JNPR were alive? Not only that, they had managed to escape? For the first time in months, Ozpin allowed himself to smile. Joy coursed through him, a sensation he had almost forgotten. Still, he had to compose himself, and became stoic once more.
"You have the white pieces," Ozpin indicated. Brainiac didn't respond, instead moving his first piece. The duo descended into a silence as they carefully manipulated the pieces on the board. When Brainiac quickly won the game, Ozpin wasn't surprised in the slightest and straightened himself, waiting for Brainiac's question.
"My question for you, Ozpin, is this: When I recovered the Mother Box, I had to fight a powerful Grimm/Human-hybrid to retrieve it. One who could not die and proved impossible to capture. When I recovered the Mother Box, my forces were forced to retreat, and subsequently the planet was destroyed."
"It sounds to me that you killed this creature," Ozpin stated, a pit forming in his stomach.
"Admittedly, I thought so as well. At the time, I was…disappointed, but had decided I could move past the lost opportunity. But, this morning, I found the headmaster of Haven Academy dead in his office, partially eaten by a Seer Grimm. There were no signs of forced entry, and the creature had come from a secret room connected to his office. The room was meant to house it, and the Seer promptly killed itself upon my attempts to capture it for study. I then spoke with Raven Branwen, who directed me to you."
Once again, Ozpin's mind was reeling. Leo was dead? Not only that, but he had a Seer in his office? Slowly, the professor felt a profound sense of anger, betrayal, and above all else, disappointment course through him. How many did Leo make? As with his many reincarnations, he had unfortunately lost count long ago.
"I…see," Ozpin finally got out, feeling regret over his friend's death. Finally, he looked back up at Brainiac with a steely expression and nodded. "What is your question?"
Brainiac coldly regarded him for a moment, then leaned forward.
"Who is Salem?"
[~][~]
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice. A bit of a breather chapter this time, after the insanity of the past few. But as I always say, you need the lows to balance out the highs. Lots of development happened here. Ruby found out about her eyes being connect to the Life Equation, Raven and Beast Boy took the next step in their relationship (which turned out to be cuddles), and finally RWBY and JNPR are moving into Wayne Manor. Not only that, we finally got a glimpse into life in Vale post-bottling. It's merely a taste of what's to come, as eventually we plan to delve more into it.
Now, onto the Q&A:
RandomName3064: Yep, Ruby's eyes were always the end game for this particular arc. It felt the most appropriate time for us to bring them up, which is one of the reasons why we had their first true villain be Trigon as in our story, he's affected by them. It's another reason as to why Ruby and Jaune had their weapons be broken. It's important for their character development, especially for Ruby. We got a glimpse of that with Ruby declaring they can no longer rest on what they had. Before, they really only worked to replace what they had lost, but that mindset almost proved disastrous. Now, they're going to work on incorporating things they never would have considered before. You guys are going to like what we have planned.
hirshja: Glad you liked our interpretation of Control Freak. He was a fun villain to write for, not to mention a lighthearted introduction to the Titans arc that was later...subverted. Funny how it went from almost a comedy to horror.
Vein Bloodborne: I'm glad you liked the chapter, however I do want to address your last comment. I don't believe in fanservice for fanservice's sake. I did have them go the beach (or at least a hardlight one), but to me, a more somber note was needed. It was meant to be a goodbye between fire-forged friends as well as the opening to the chapter of their lives. Now that isn't to say that I won't do a traditional 'beach' chapter eventually, however it would most likely be relegated to a Chibi chapter. For example, superpowered volleyball. Make that what you will.
Dracus6: Meta-human trafficking isn't a major focus of this story, as that is a Young Justice thing. I've been over this before.
Supermonaman: I'm really happy that you liked the chapter so much. All three of us are proud of how it turned out. As for posting quickly, I try my best. I want to keep the story rolling, and I don't like long times between updates. Also, to answer your first review, the scene in Beast Boy's mind was inspired by a similar scene in Young Justice. Basically, Beast Boy is connected to something called the Red, which is why the monkey flashed Red as did Beast Boy when he exerted himself. More will be elaborated on that later.
Jacob9594: Thank you. As for Silver-Eyes, you'll have to wait and see. Just know that we have plans regarding them.
Steelrain66: Yeah, Jaune helped out here in this chapter. Still though, it was a team effort. Everyone chipped in to stop Brother Blood. Weiss came up with the plan, Nightwing, Starfire, and Donna held him down, Jaune incapacitated him, but ultimately it was Raven who won the battle. Raven in her white form is very powerful, possibly powerful enough to have soloed Trigon on her own. As for the rest, I'm glad that you liked my depiction of the Titans. Yes, RWBY and JNPR are leaving them now, but they'll always be friends. Plus, the internet is a thing.
That's it for this time. Let us know what you all think!